


Psycho

by Faiz



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 23:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/892926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faiz/pseuds/Faiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He screamed, but it seemed like the more he tried to make sound the quieter he got.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_"....The victim showed the same injuries that 8 previous cases had. They had a large gash across their nose, and their tongue was cut out. The police are saying that the slash across their nose may have been done by the culprit to mark them, to show that they were his victims..."_

Anders shivered as he walked down the road. He was in a rather bad mood, because his car had decided to break down when he went to leave work, and Dawn had already left. It was no use calling any of his brothers, because they wouldn't want to come pick him up anyways. So he relented and decided to return home on foot, because he didn't want to wait for a tow truck to arrive. But now as he continued walking down the dark streets he was immediately regretting this decision. At least there were cars passing by every so often so he didn't feel so creepily alone. He really shouldn't be out at night with all the creepy shit that has been going down. It was all over the news, how could anyone not miss it?

_"...We strongly urge everyone to stay inside after dark, and if you must go out, stay in groups. Make sure to stay in well-lit areas where there are plenty of people. Parents should keep an eye on their children so they may stay safe as well. There seems to be no pattern to who this culprit chooses as their victims, so do not think you are exempt..."_

And of course the area Anders had to pass through was extremely dark. But at least he was almost home, and then he could quickly barricade himself in his home and then drink and watch shitty movies like he always did when he got some alone time. Anders shivered again, and then paused for a moment. He swore that there was sound just a minute ago. He stared around, and made a slight noise just to make sure he didn't go deaf. 

"Okay...I'm going crazy." He muttered to himself.

He was completely alone now, no cars passing by, and it seemed like every house had their lights off. Anders continued on, but paused again, quickly wheeling around and staring wildly around. He thought he had heard footsteps, and Anders was growing more and more paranoid by the second. He was freaked. The silence seemed to be pressing onto him from all sides. He just wanted to hear _something_. A bird, a car, even someone yelling fucking bloody murder. 

He turned around and started sprinting, but his breath was quickly cut off as someone seized him from the back of his jacket and he was pulled roughly backwards until his head met with the concrete painfully. He let out a hiss of pain as he struggled. A man was practically sitting on top of him, much larger and heavier than Anders. He couldn't move his legs at all, so he was stuck. He screamed as the man pulled out a long sharp kitchen knife and grazed it across Anders' nose. He realized who it was. He started shrieking for help, but his voice seemed to grow quieter and quieter until he was completely silent. 

That shocked him. Why wasn't he making any sound? How the fuck was he going to get away now? But how did that even happen? But then he momentarily locked eyes with the man above him, and he felt something strange. Then he realized.

That man was a god. That fucking psycho man who cut out people's fucking tongues was a god just like Anders was. He was like no god he'd ever seen. He had met some pretty fucked up gods, but this guy took the cake for it. He smirked at Anders.

"So you're Bragi then?" His voice was low and raspy. "I've been waiting to catch my first god, and how lucky that it's one that relies on his voice to use his powers." He grazed over Anders' nose again. 

Anders gave a silent whimper at the stinging pain. He could feel blood trickling down his face. He wished he could scream, call out, make any noise possible. But he couldn't. This man clearly had power over sound, and it didn't take a genius to know that he was probably Hoenir, the silent god. It seems like he was doing some silencing himself. And before Anders could even try to think of a way to escape, his head was pressed back onto the concrete, and the knife was now pressed into his skin just under his left eye. His mind was screaming at him from the pain, and it grew worse as the knife was heavily dragged across his nose, warm blood now gushing out of the wound and into Anders' eyes, causing even more stinging pain. It was dripping down his face and into his mouth as he let out silent screams. The coppery smell and taste of blood was invading his senses while he moved and twitch out of sheer pain. 

His mouth was then held open and his tongue painfully pulled out. He could barely breath, and he felt dizzy. His vision was blurred and still stinging from the pain from the blood getting into his eyes. He closed his eyes and braced himself, and he felt the knife burrow into the flesh of his tongue.

He let out a piercing scream, and he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating this sooner, I had to kinda work out how exactly I wanted it to go (and to be honest I still don't have a clear idea, but at least I figured out enough for another chapter for you all)

The first thing Anders felt when he came to was a stinging pain coming from his face. He tried to groan, but only managed to make a strange pitiful sound at the back of his throat. At least that alerted the person in his hospital room to his being awake. Anders blinked rapidly trying to clear his blurred vision to see who was standing over him, and soon enough Mike came into his line of sight. Anders tried to sit up, but let out another awkward groan of pain and flopped back onto his pillow. 

"Are you alright Anders?" Mike asked quietly.

Anders tried to respond, but he only managed to make some mangled noises. That's when it all came back to him. He was walking back home when he had been jumped by Hoenir, and Anders could remember searing pain, and Hoenir taunting him mercilessly. His tongue...Anders let out another groan, as he soon realized that his tongue wasn't there. It was BARELY there, a stump at the back of his throat. Useless. And the pain across the bridge of his nose was the same cut that every other victim of Hoenir had. It wasn't gonna go away, that was for sure. He was going to be permanently disfigured. 

But his tongue...

"The doctors said you won't be able to talk...Not properly at least. You'll be able to form a few words, but they won't ever really sound right Anders..." Mike put a hand on Anders' shoulder in comfort.

Anders was glad that at least for now Mike wasn't horribly pissed at him. Hell, Mike probably pitied Anders right now. His power relied on his voice, it relied on him speaking to people to bend them to his will. But now without his tongue he could barely form simple words. Anders was now officially completely useless to the hunt for Frigg. He's so sure that his brothers only needed him for Bragi, so it was obvious that he was now just some poor broken fool who's going to have to live life without even being able to speak. He might as well get rid of his god spirit for all the good that it would do for him. 

He wanted to ask Mike where Michele was. Why she didn't heal him. But then again, he didn't know if Yggdrasil could regrow organs. He wanted to ask where everyone was. It was only Mike sitting there with him in his hospital room. He had no proper way of communicating, just laying there and staring up at the ceiling while Mike watched him like a hawk. Then he felt a small book being pressed into his hand, and he turned slowly to see a small notebook and pen lying on his hand. He glanced at Mike with tired bloodshot eyes, before carefully picking up the notebook with his shaking hands.

His handwriting was barely legible as he slowly wrote out 'Where is everyone else?' and 'What am I going to do now?' onto the first sheet of paper in the notebook. When he stopped writing, Mike plucked the notebook out of his hand and glanced over the short question. "They went out to eat. I stayed behind to see if you would wake up. And what do you mean, what are you going to do?"

Anders made motions to his mouth, and let out another strange sound. He winced a bit at that. He sounded so hideous. It didn't sound like his own voice. It just sounded wrong.

"Well, from what I've heard from the doctors here and there, after you're properly healed, you're going to start learning sign language to communicate. It's better than just carrying around a notepad and pencil wherever you go. We're all supposed to learn it together, as a family." Mike couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It was Olaf's idea, but it makes sense I guess because we're not gonna understand you if we can't use sign language."

Anders wanted to groan again, but his throat was raw and in pain from all the other shit it had to go through, so he stayed silent. His eyes went back to staring at the ceiling as he tried to figure out how he was even going to live his life. It wasn't until now that he realized how much if his life relied on his powers of Bragi, or even then, just his ability to speak. He couldn't run a PR company like this. It would take ages for him to properly recover and be able to speak sign language well enough for work. He heard a chair scrape, and Mike mumble something about going to get some coffee, and Anders was left alone in his hospital room.

He felt useless. Completely and utterly useless. He knew no one was ever going to look at him the same way ever again. Not with the scar, or the fact that whenever he tries to speak it just sounded like awkward whale noises. He was just going to be the useless god who couldn't even use his own powers, the one that was defeated by the god of silence. He felt tears streaming down his face, and his mind quickly flashed back to him lying in the street in total pain as his life was torn out of his grip. And he let out a bark of pained laughter.

He wasn't even going to be able to taste Ty's cupcakes anymore.

He had never sobbed harder than he had that day.


	3. Chapter 3

Anders couldn't bear lifting his eyes. He knew what he'd see when he looked up. People would be staring, pointing him out. When he and Ty had entered, a group of teenage girls had stopped in the middle of their conversation just to stare at Anders. When he sat down, he could clearly see a girl pointed straight at him, and another girl trying to discreetly take a picture. Anders hated it. He hated going out and having everyone on the streets not even trying to be discreet about staring at him and pointing him out to their companions. He hated the way the person would loudly explain what had happened to Anders. 

It made him shaky, and his stomach would twist. He wanted to yell out at them to shut up, but he couldn't even do that. Now he was sitting alone in a booth attempting to make himself as invisible as possible. He rubbed at the raised scar tissue that stretched across the bridge of his nose. He jumped at the light noise that was made when a cup was set in front of him. He looked up to see a clear plastic cup filled with a thick frothy pink liquid. 

"How are you feelin', bro?" Ty asked as he slid in next to Anders.

Anders shrugged, and picked up the cold drink with shaking fingers. He took a sip, feeling the coldness slip down his throat. He could just barely taste a hint of strawberry as he continued drinking the smoothie. Ty watched him, barely touching his own food. Anders just looked so different. He was paler, and so much thinner than before. His eyes actually bugged out a bit more, and his ribs showed more. 

Ty felt a tap on his hand, and he saw a note written on Anders' notepad.

'Hurry up. We have to met up with the rest for the lessons.'

Lessons. The entire family had been going to sign language lessons for a few days now. Anders was a natural at learning it surprisingly enough, or maybe it was just the incentive of not having to use a pen and paper to communicate with the family. Unfortunately for him, none of his brothers besides Mike had had good luck in learning it as quickly. Mike was easy, it was just a simple way of Axl betting that he could learn sign language faster than both Mike and Ty. Bad idea, obviously enough.

Ty sighed, and started shoving the food into his mouth quickly so he and Anders could leave. Anders was happy when they finally left that suffocating place, and away from the staring teenage girls. At least when he was out in the streets it was easier to hide his face, even if no one stopped staring at him. Without thinking, he tried to say 'please make them stop'

It came out as strange garbled sounds. Ty looked at him with a hint of worry in his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" People asked that a lot these days, and Anders wasn't sure if he knew the answer.

But he nodded anyways, and moved forward.

But he screeched to a halt quickly, causing Ty to bump into him.

"What? What's wrong?" 

Anders fell to the ground, in a fetal position, shaking. Ty panicked, trying to figure out what had caused this. One wild look around the area gave him his answer, and what was ahead of them. To the untrained eye it just looked like any other piece of concrete, but if you were looking directly at it, and knew what you were looking for, you'd see the faint remains of blood.

They were where Anders had been found.

Ty kneeled down next to his brother, and wrapped his arms around his small shaking form. 

"It's okay, Anders. You're going to be okay. He's not here." He whispered.

He wasn't here, but who knows where he could be. He had been talking with Mike and the rest, and they had all come to the agreement that they had to find Hoenir, and stop him. Permanently. For his brother, because it's his fault that Anders was never going to be the same again.


	4. Chapter 4

“We need to find him before someone else gets hurt.” Ty said, looking at his two brothers and Olaf.

They were at Anders' house, and said blond was currently fast asleep in his bed while the other brothers where having a sudden meeting. It had been silently decided ever since Anders had been brought to the hospital that they were going to find Hoenir and stop him from continuing all this bullshit that he'd been causing. But they had never really had a chance to properly discuss it because most of the time Anders was there with them, and they didn't want to bring it up around him while he was still healing.

But he was doing better. His hands sliced through the air precisely as if he had been using sign language for longer than a month. If only the same could be said about the brothers. Mike was doing fairly well, enough to understand Anders at least. Ty still had to spell out most of the words because he couldn't remember gestures for a word. Axl was still struggling with remembering the alphabet. But they were trying to make Anders' life as normal as possible.

“Well, we could try tracking him, but I'd assume that Hoenir is good at covering his tracks.” Mike shrugged. “Olaf and I can go searching for him today, and you and Axl can stay here with Anders.”

Axl and Ty both nodded. 

“But...What exactly are we going to do...When we meet Hoenir?” Axl asked tentatively, already knowing the answer.

“With what the bastards been doing, we might just have to kill him. But you are Odin, so ultimately in the end you're the one who decides what happens.” Mike replied.

Axl gulped, averting his gaze away from his family. Banishment was one thing. Killing was a matter completely different, and Axl wasn't very fond of the idea of actually ordering to kill someone. He jumped suddenly when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he spun around to see a still half-asleep Anders staring blankly at the brothers. The right side of his hair was standing on end, and he had pillow marks on his face.

'What are you guys doing?' He signed, and then yawned.

“Nothing you need to worry about Anders.” Mike stood up and walked over to Anders, and patted his shoulder. “Olaf and I are going to go run some errands. Ty and Axl are going to stay with you. So don't be a dick.” Mike couldn't help but feel a bit elated from the small smile Anders gave him.

Mike gestured for Olaf to stand up as well, and the two men exited the building and onto the streets. They stood silently for a moment, and Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly the insides of his eyelids were filled with pictures, movement, blurring rapidly. It was like someone was changing the channel to a TV as quickly as they possibly could. And Mike quickly pinpointed one. It was just a mere flash of a picture, but it was enough. Mike opened his eyes and nodded at Olaf. They both took off running in one direction.

Periodically they would stop, and Mike would close his eyes again, and those pictures would flash through his mind so quickly no one besides Ullr would even be able to fathom what they were seeing. But he always found what he needed, and soon enough they were lead to a small home that seemed abandoned. They entered quietly. It was strange...The house looked abandoned, and the inside looked as though a family just up and left without warning. There was a cup of nearly evaporated coffee still sitting on a table. A game of monopoly on the ground with a layer of dust covering it. It seems like no one had been in the house for months...

Mike closed his eyes again, and sure enough the flashes still lead him to this house. He and Olaf crept forward further into the room, and Mike nearly had a heart attack when music suddenly filled the room. But it was just Olaf, who had dusted off the stereo and started playing what sounded like children's music from a CD that was already in there.

“Olaf what the hell?” Mike asked.

“Hoenir can make things go silent, like turning down the TV with a remote. So I figure if we have music playing, we'll know if he's trying to sneak up on us.” Olaf shrugged.

Mike had to admit it was actually a good idea, so their search of the house was now being serenaded by renditions of children's songs that neither of them had even heard of. The house literally did seem abandoned though. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, and it didn't look like anyone had been in there besides themselves. But it was still very unsettling to see objects that had clearly been in use suddenly abandoned. The hairdryer was still plugged in the bathroom, and a makeup set was still sitting out and opened. 

Mike froze. He suddenly realized he couldn't hear the music anymore, and Olaf was nowhere in sight. He quickly ran out of the bathroom.

“Olaf?” He tried to shout out, but it came out as a mere whisper.

Mike couldn't even hear his heart pounding. But he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and he spun around, and could just barely let out the quietest whisper.

“Shit.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got struck by sudden inspiration, which means you all get a new chapter today! I'm not exactly sure how many more chapters are left after this, but I hope you're enjoying it!

The three brothers that had been left were sitting in silence. Ty or Axl weren't exactly sure if it was a comfortable silence or not, as they sipped on their drinks that they had helped themselves to after Anders had waved a hand allowing them to take something. Anders was staring at his fish tank, not looking at either of the brothers. He had an almost pensive look on his face as he stared at his brightly colored fish swimming serenely through the tank, completely unaware of what had happened to their owner. 

“Anders? Are you alright?” Ty finally spoke up. 

Anders turned his head slowly to Ty, blinking at him for a moment before nodding. He then signed 'What are Olaf and Mike really doing?'

“Uhm...” Ty stuttered, trying to find a proper response, looking at Axl for help. The tallest brother could only shrug, not knowing how to respond either.

But before they could quickly clutter together a proper excuse, Anders waved his hand again dismissing the question. He stood up and walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. It was then that his shoulders sagged and he let out a sigh. He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced at his appearance. He still looked thin and haggard. He wasn't sure how his brothers could even stand looking at him when he could barely look at himself in the eye. The scar across his forehead was jagged and ugly. 

He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He had to admit that now he knew how Ty had felt. Never being able to taste anything, almost feeling numb. Eating just never seemed to feel worth it. And now his brothers always looked at him with pity in their eyes. He could already feel tears pricking at his eyes from all the self-hate he was having, and he rubbed his eyes furiously. He didn't want his brothers to freak out over anything else.

After calming down a bit, he did wonder what Olaf and Mike had gone off to do. Their expressions had been nearly unreadable, but Anders could detect the seriousness from their tone of voice. It was then that his eyes suddenly widened when he realized exactly what they were doing. He was an idiot for not knowing sooner. He quickly locked the door leading to the rest of the house and went through the other door to his bedroom, quickly getting dressed in some proper clothing and putting on his shoes.

He heard at least part of what they were saying during their little impromptu meeting while Anders was supposed to be asleep. In actuality he had woken up just in time to hear them talking about wanting to kill...kill Hoenir. Anders gulped again as he tied the laces on his shoes when he thought the name. But he didn't know they were planning to do it again.

But he did know one thing for sure, he didn't want his brothers and Olaf to end up exactly like he had. It was horrible, being like this. Mike and Olaf at least deserved living happy lives. Even if this meant having to face the man, no, the _thing_ that had caused him so much pain. He stood up and quickly unlocked the door in the bathroom and rushed out to the shocked expressions of Ty and Axl.

“Anders where the hell are you going?” Ty said standing up.

Anders quickly signed. 'To get Mike and Olaf before they end up like me,” Anders grabbed a jacket and opened the door. But he paused and looked at them with such a serious expression that clearly read. 'You can't stop me.'  
And with that he ran out of his flat and onto the streets, and he could hear the footsteps and yells of his brothers chasing after him. Anders barely had any idea of where he was going, he just ran and ran hoping that his brothers would lose him so he wouldn't have to deal with them trying to make him reconsider. He had made up his mind. It was then that he got an idea, and he halted, looking at the street signs briefly before turning and heading down a different street. He had no idea where Hoenir was, but he knew where to start at least.

He was going back to where it had happened to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Anders stopped as soon as he arrived to the street where it had happened all those months ago. It still felt like it was only yesterday, and the part of his tongue still in tact ached in pain as he looked a the area where he was found. He closed his eyes, and feared that if he opened them he'd see the puddle of blood that had been left when they had taken him away to the hospital. His breathing was still labored, and his heart was beating loudly in his ears. There was a deep sense of foreboding in him, and he knew he should get out of there as quickly as he could before he had a full blown out panic attack in the middle of the street.

But instead, he opened his eyes, and moved slowly over to the spot where he knew where he had been. He stopped, and looked around. He avoided looking back at the ground, he didn't want to see the blood, even if he knew it wasn't there anymore. His mind would make it look like it was there. Once again he was stuck, at a loss for what to do. He knew he had to find Mike and Olaf somehow, tell them to come back, tell them that they didn't have to. But he didn't know how he would find them when they could be anywhere in the city.

He pulled out his phone to check the time, and then a thought came to his mind. He found his music and started playing it on the speakers. It was some upbeat poppy ballad that Anders didn't bother trying to identify, but he put the volume as high as it could go, much to the annoyance of a few passersby who glared at him for creating noise. Anders ignored them for once, as he tried to keep his mind focused on his objective. He started forward again, making sure to keep his mind focused on the music's volume, and taking care that he wouldn't move it himself on accident.

He must have looked even more strange than normal to other people. Thin and sickly looking, and now with loud pop music blaring right next to his ear. But he kept it there as he continued on, hoping that there'd be some sort of change, but at the same time hoping it'd stay the same volume. It was worth a shot, but if it worked, he'd be even more worried for Mike and Olaf. When he arrived to a more suburban area, he noticed a sharp decrease in the volume. He quickly pulled his phone away from his ear to check the volume. It was still maxed out, yet the sound was noticeably quieter. He looked wildly around holding the phone out, and an abandoned looking house created an even sharper decrease.

Anders noticed the door was ajar. When he got to the doorstep, he noticed multiple footprints leading to different spots in the house. Two pairs lead to the living room, while another pair went straight to the hallway. The ones that lead to the hallway were more deformed, like the person who created them was running, and they kicked up more dust. Anders knew that they all must be in there. He took a deep steadying breath and closed his eyes, clutching the door frame. He tried to will himself to walk in, but something in him wasn't allowing him to. He clutched his chest as his heart felt like it was trying to jump out of his chest. He felt like he was dying.

The music he had was silent now, and the silence was pressing in on him just as it had the night when he was attacked. What was left of his tongue ached, his scar ached. Everything in his body was telling him to run away while he still could. It got to the point where tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes, and he pushed himself away from the door frame and took a few steps backward, staring up at the house. He saw a window from the upstairs area, and he saw a body being held against the closed window, and suddenly he snapped.

Without even thinking, he ran into the house, tears streaming down his eyes and he climbed silently up the stairs and saw Olaf unconscious on the ground. He collapsed near him in a panic, although there was a small breath of relief when he realized that Olaf was still fully in tact, just unconscious. Anders stood up again, looking at the door down the hallway that stood ajar. They were in there, Anders knew it. 

He was overwhelmed by a wave of sudden nausea that made him feel dizzy. He steadied himself as much as he could with his hands shaking horribly. He slowly made his way over to the door, and he could feel the courage that he had barely had slowly start to ebb away the nearer he got. He heard speaking. It was Hoenir, of course it was Hoenir. He could speak even when there was definite silence. Anders couldn't make out what they were saying as he approached the door. 

Oddly enough, Hoenir seemed to have taken no notice of Anders being there, but Mike (who was still held up against the window) seemed to glance quickly at Anders before going back to Hoenir, silently mouthing words in attempt to response to Hoenir's goading. Anders scanned the room, and quickly grabbed a dust covered book that was lying on the bed nearby. He had no idea if he actually had the strength to even hurt Hoenir, but maybe if Anders was able to distract the giant of a man, Mike would be able to escape with Olaf. 

Hoenir was still making snide remarks at Mike, as Anders slowly approached him, as quietly as he possibly could. Mike was still silently making movements with his mouth like a fish, and when Hoenir suddenly tightened his grip around Mike's neck, causing his brother's eyes to bulge out and he started to struggle, Anders lifted the book and ended up chucking it as hard as he could at Hoenir's head. All at once sound returned when the book connected with his head. Mike was gasping for breath, and Anders' phone suddenly started blasting pop music again as Hoenir turned around angrily and saw Anders quickly fumbling with his phone trying to turn of his music.

Anders looked up and saw Hoenir moving towards his and he shrieked, dropping the phone and not caring when the screen shattered beyond repair. Hoenir grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up off the ground, and Anders could just barely see Mike scrambling to get up off the ground. He looked back at Hoenir. He looked insane, with his eyes opened widely and dilated to the point where you could only see a thin ring of color, and he was snarling. 

“You again? I thought I had fucked you up enough that you wouldn't even bother anymore! And then you come along before I can even get your brother and grandpa to join you! It looks like I can't have my fun anymore if you Johnsons keep coming back to try and stop me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. Anders flailed even more, when he saw the dried coppery blood still all over it. “It looks like I'll have to get rid of you a bit more permanently...” He whispered in Anders' ear.

He lifted the knife and pressed it gently against Anders' throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe we're nearing the end, folks....


	7. Chapter 7

Anders was completely frozen. He couldn’t move at all, and all he could feel with the cool metal pressed against his neck and his neck was pulsing right near the metal. If his pulse was any stronger he’d probably end up cutting himself open, or at least it felt like it. He wished desperately that he could just call out to Mike, telling him to run and not bother to get Anders. He was done for. He knew he was completely utterly done for, and this…this was going to be his last moment of life. At least he’ll die being somewhat of a hero.

He gave another small whine of protest as he felt the knife press ever so slightly deeper into his skin. “Don’t worry, Bragi. It’ll all be over in a few seconds.”

Anders let out a shriek of horror and pain as the knife suddenly pressed hard into his neck and he could feel warm blood pouring out of his wounds. He fell to the ground when Hoenir’s grip suddenly was gone and he fell to the ground with a thump. He could only barely register that another body had fallen to the ground next to him, and soon he was being lifted up by familiar arms and hands. 

“Anders, stay with me...Anders.” He faintly heard a voice tell him. It was Mike. He felt fabric being pressed onto his wound.

Mike. Of course. As soon as Hoenir relinquished his attention on Mike and focused on Anders, it must have given him the perfect opportunity to find a way to get Anders. He was the God of Games, he would be able to find a way to help him escape in no time flat. And while he did end up getting Anders, the fact that he was still mere seconds too late made Anders sad, but still proud. He had really tried. And now Anders felt too weak to open his eyes, but with the blurry vision he looked up at the figure that he knew was Mike.

“Anders, keep your eyes open. Olaf already called the police a few minutes ago. They’re already nearly here...Hoenir, he’s gone. I...I just got something and threw it at him. Got him right in the back of his neck…” Mike whispered into his ear, his voice wavering. “Please, just stay with me.”

Anders wanted to say something in response, but he couldn’t. So he lifted a shaking arm and slowly wrapped a hand around Mike’s forearm. He gave a weak smile, and he had no idea how Mike responded because Mike didn’t say anything. He just continued to press the fabric to Anders’ neck. Anders’ grip was slowly loosening on his arm, and his vision was growing black at the edges.

He couldn’t really hear Mike anymore, not really. But the searing pain that was on his neck was slowly starting to disappear, and he just felt a nice numbness spreading throughout his body. He couldn’t feel the fabric anymore, or Mike’s presence. It was like he was floating. He was floating away, down some sort of lazy river with his limbs hanging from his sides. He cracked his eyes open, even though he never remembered them being closed at all. And all around him was a vast emptiness. It didn’t feel eerie, or terrifying at all. Just calming. 

“It’s not your time.” A voice suddenly said from his right. 

He sat up, still feeling the same floating sensation. The voice spoke again. “It’s not your time to go just yet.” He looked to where the voice was coming from, and he was looking eye to eye with himself.

He opened his mouth, and that mere movement showed that he had his tongue. Yet it didn’t shock him. Nothing in this strange world shocked him. “What isn’t my time? Where am I not going?” Anders asked himself. No, it wasn’t himself. It was Bragi.

Bragi looked at him with a serene expression. He was draped in white and gold, and was holding a harp in one hand. “Your time to die, Anders. It’s my time to leave, but you’re not coming with me.”

“Why?”

“You have no need of me anymore. You may not be able to speak, but you can communicate via other means. You’ve proven yourself to be capable without my aid. So I must go now.” He gave Anders a bow.

 

“So I’m not getting my tongue back, am I?” Anders asked, a slight gloomy tone entering his voice.

“No, unfortunately you are not. But as I’ve said, you’ve proven yourself. Your life may never be the same again, but you saved your brother’s life, and your grandfather’s. After that, you could do anything.” Bragi gave him a small smile, and stepped towards him. He bent down and his lips were right by Anders’ ear. His breath was cool on his skin. “Now go on. They’re waiting for you. Live again.”

And all at once, Anders’ ears were assaulted by loud beeping noises and the sudden excited shouts from people all around him. The pain was back in his neck, and his tongue still gone. But when he opened his eyes, he was suddenly surrounded by all his brothers, and his grandpa. Axl had been the first one to just throw all his weight onto Anders in pure excitement.

“Anders! We thought you were done for! You died for a just a little bit, enough for us to see Bragi leave!” Axl chattered.

Anders nodded, reaching up to feel the bandages that were covering his neck. While Ty and Axl were simply fluttering about his bed with excitement, Mike and Olaf were watching him carefully. Finally after a few minutes, they convinced Axl and Ty to go and get them coffee. Mike leaned forward.

“How did you survive? The doctors said you had no chance. You lost so much blood.”  
Anders lifted his hand, and slowly spelled out B-R-A-G-I with his hand. Olaf nodded. “Bragi decided that it wasn’t Anders’ time to go yet, so he brought him back.”

“Is that possible?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

Olaf shrugged. “If Bragi wanted it to be possible, I don’t see why not. Gods are tricky things.”

Anders smiled. It was slightly unexpected apparently, as Olaf and Mike just sort of stared at him, and he shook his head. He was getting the feeling back in his arms, so he could sign to them, even if it was a bit more stiff than he was used to. 

‘I’m okay now, don’t worry.’

Even after he said that, Mike and Olaf looked worried. But Anders still continued to smile, so they knew that he was being serious when he said he was okay now. Maybe he wasn’t really perfectly okay, nor did he think he ever would be perfectly okay. But he was already steps closer to at least being close. His family was here with him, and he knew that Bragi stuck with him the entire time despite not being able to be used. He was glad that Bragi was set free from him, so he could go inhabit a body that could use him, and maybe even use him for good. And maybe, when his time finally came, Bragi could welcome him back in open arms. And maybe…

Maybe he’d be able to speak once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day. :)


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